Readout device for fabric patterns for the formation of corresponding electric pulses, on hosiery machines

ABSTRACT

A device is disclosed for reading out the pattern of a fabric to be woven on a hoisery machine, in which the pattern is caused to advance stepwise under a plate having a transversally formed window capable of showing the fabric pattern row by row, a set of conducting tabs, two for each square of the pattern, and mounted on opposite sides of the row being checked, a light source for each pair of conducting tabs, a control circuit being connected to each pair of tabs, and an electrode for generating, when put in contact with one tab for the generation of an activation signal and, when put in contact with the confronting tab, the light source being lighted when the delivery of an activation signal is preset.

United States Patent n91 Piro [451 Feb. 25, 1975 [75] Inventor:

[73] Assignee: Nuova San Giorgio S.p.A.,

Genova-Sestri, Italy 22 Filed: Jan.l1,1974

21 App]. No.: 432,584

Mario Piro, Genova, Italy 1 e ia sa i ati n P iqrit D Jan. 11,1973 Italy19165/73 [52] US. Cl. 340/173 R, 66/154 A [51] Int. Cl H01! 13/50 [58]Field of Search 66/75, 78, 154 A, 50;

139/55, 317, 318, 319; 235/616 A, 61.6 B; 178/18, 19, 20; 340/365 P,172.5, 173 LT,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,644,671 2/1972 Scarbrough178/18 3,783,642 l/1974 Hadam 66/154 A Primary Examiner-James W.Lawrence Assistant Examiner-D. C. Nelms Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Diller,Brown, Ramik & Wight [57] ABSTRACT A device is disclosed for reading outthe pattern of a fabric to be woven on a hoisery machine, in which thepattern is caused to advance stepwise under a plate having atransversally formed window capable of showing the fabric pattern row byrow, a set of conducting tabs, two for each square of the pattern, andmounted on opposite sides of the row being checked, a light source foreach pair of conducting tabs, a control circuit being connected to eachpair of tabs, and an electrode for generating, when put in contact withone tab for the generation of an activation signal and, when put incontact with the confronting tab, the light source being lighted whenthe delivery of an activation signal is preset.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATEN TED FEB? 51975 sum 2 or 2 READOUTDEVICE FOR FABRIC PATTERNS FOR THE FORMATION OF CORRESPONDING ELECTRICPULSES, ON I'IOSIERY MACHINES The formation of a fabric requires, at theoutset, its graphical representation on a drawing: this drawing, inaddition to giving an initial idea of the appearance the fabric willhave, is the operative program of the weaving machine.

More particularly, for the formation of knitted fabrics, the pattern isusually divided into squares, each of which shows one mesh: each squarewill have, in addi tion, a colour which, properly read out and convertedinto an electric signal, will have the corresponding needle to becomeactive in the machine for bringing the thread of preselected colour tomake up the fabric.

The program, as represented by the drawing, is the means which, whenproperly read out, permits to deliver a plurality of signals, which areadapted to give an exact positioning to the needle controllingmechanical members, in hoisery machines. For example each read out rowof the pattern will enable the pins exactly to be positioned along agenerating line of the control cylinder for the needles in a mechanicalJacquard type machine.

More recently. there have been suggested hosiery machines in which theneedle control is carried out by means of electromagnetic actuators; inthis case the fabric pattern is the program which, when properly readout and processed permits to send to the actuator command electricpulses.

Considering the very high number of informational data which should beread out and transferred, the operation takes a considerable time andinvolves a high possibility of errors; inasmuch as an error leads to areject of the material which is woven as a test and a delay of the startof the manufacture, it is apparent that it is necessary to be able tointerpret and to carry out with rapidity and without faults thepresetting of the machine on the basis of the pattern.

Devices are known for reading out and transferring the information fromthe pattern to the weaving machine, which generally require of theoperator to read out, the transcription of data, and subsequentsequential actuation of a double manual control for preparing thepatterning cylinders in the mechanical Jacquard machines; the resultbeing an exceedingly high probability of errors and long times forreading the patterns out, or automatized systems which, however, havehigh costs which are admissible for machines having electromagneticactuators.

The devices as suggested, however, have not solved in a satisfactory andeconomical way the problem of speeding up and preventing errors in thepattern readout.

The present invention has the object of providing in a cheap and simpleform a device adapted to carry out the readout ofa fabric pattern byconverting it into corresponding electric pulses which can be controlledby an operator by means of a luminous display first to a storage, be itof a mechanical type or any other at choise; more particularly theinvention intends to suggest a device which permits the quick andaccurate readout of the pattern with a continuous possibility of checkof the information to be delivered. The device according to theinvention comprises:

A guideway which supports slidably the fabric pattern sheet; a platewhich can be superposed to said guideway and two pluralities of contactmembers arranged on two parallel rows perpendicularly to said guidewayand between which a window is formed which permits the readout of a rowof squares of said pattern; a plurality of light sources, each arrangedin the vicinity of a couple of confronting elements of the two rows;means for manually actuating said contact members, the one or the otherof a couple of confronting elements controlling a bistable'circuiteither to actuate or deactuate the deliver of a signal which energizesone of said light sources, a storage member being further provided forstoring the delivered signals.

The mode of operation of the device according to the invention and itsessential constructional features will be better understood from theensuring description of an exemplary embodiment, as shown in theaccompanying drawings; wherein FIG. 1 is a perspective view of thedevice according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a detail of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of the device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, on a baseplate 10 the strip pattern 11is laterally guided, it being of the known type in which the meshes areshown as squares. and each square has the indications of actuation of aneedle with a thread of a preselected colour.

The pattern is wrapped around rollers 12 and 13, which allow it normallyto be fed forward according to the manner to be described later.

A plate 14 is hinged at 35 to the baseplate 10 and in the closedposition rests on the pattern 11 to lay it flat; in the plate 14 thereis formed a rectilinear slot 15 which permits the readout of a row ofthe squares of the pattern 11, which thus appears through it; at thesides of the slot 15 there are arranged tabs 16 and 17, each pair 16-17corresponding to one of the squares of the row of the pattern which isseen through the slot 15.

Each tab corresponds to a contact on which an electrode can be placed torest, having a conducting tip 18 carried by an insulating handlel9;

Within the baseplate 10 there are housed, in a throatlike recess 20,microlamps 21, each of which is arranged between the tabs of a tab pairsuch as 16-17; thus each microlamp is in correspondence with one squareof the pattern 11.

FIG. 3 shows the circuit diagram of a circuitry which can be housedwithin the baseplate 10.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, to the several pairs of tabs 16, 17 areassociated respective logical circuits 25, whose outputs are connectedto respective inputs 1,. .,n of a common storage means 26. Each of theselogical circuits comprises a bistable multivibrator 27 equipped with anactuating input connected to the tab 16 and a deactivation or cancellinginput connected to the output of an OR gate 28, one of whose inputs isconnected to the tab 17. Another input of the OR gate 28, together withthe corresponding other input of the OR gates 28 comprises in theseveral logical circuits 25, is connected, conversely, through a delayelement 29 (for example a single-shot multivibrator) to the output of apulse shaper 30 (single-shot multivibrator) controlled by a resetpushbutton 31. The bistable multivibrator 27 continued in each of thelogical circuits 25 is equipped, in addition, with an output which isconnected both to a pilot lamp 21 and to an input of a logical AND gate32. Another input of the latter, together with the corresponding otherinput of the AND gates 32 as contained in the several logical circuits25, is connected, instead, to the output of the pulse shaper 30(single-shot multivibrator).

Lastly, the output of each AND gate 32 is connected to a respective oneof the inputs 1, .,n of the storage 26.

In operation, whenever a contact is made between the electrode 18 andone of the tabs 16, an actuation pulse is generated for thecorresponding bistable multivibrator 27, which, changing its state,causes the lamp 21 to be lighted and an actuation signal to be preset atone input of the logical gate 32.

The above indicated bistable multivibrator can, if desired, be restoredto the original inactive state by completing the contact between theelectrode 18 and the tab 17 associated with the same multivibrator.

Once the desired presetting of the several bistable multivibrators 27has been effected, it is possible, conversely, to transfer from thestorage 26 the combination of signals as obtained at the outputs of thesame multivibrators, by acting on the pushbutton 31. By so doing, thepulse shaper 30, in fact, delivers a signal which, beingadded to the onewhich is already present at the input of the several AND gates 32,causes the transfer of the storage 26.

After a corresponding delay time as set by the member. 29, the signaldelivered by the pulse shaper 30v causes, moreover, through the OR gates28, the resetting of all the bistable multivibrators 27 and theconsequent restoration of the original at rest condition.

It is apparent how easily the electrode 18 can cause to slide over thetabs 16 which are involved on the base of the pattern row which appearsthrough the window 15. If, by error, one acts on a tab 16 which shouldnot be involved, the information can be cancelled, by touching with theelectrode 18 the tab 17 which corresponds.

As the operator has terminated the row readout, he can immediately checkthat all the lamps are lighted which light by transparence the squaresconcerned, and only those: if the check shows the absence of errors, theinformation can be sent to the storage by actuating the pushbutton 31and an appropriate manipulation of the rollers 12 and 13 permits toplace in the slots the next row of the pattern.

It is apparent that a further device can be provided with advantage forcausing the pattern to be fed forward automatically step by step incorrespondence with the distance between a row and the next one to beread out.

The nature of the storage 26 is, of course, a function of the kind ofhosiery machine which is to be controlled; it can be, for example, ofthe magnetic type, card or perforated strip type; it can also be a kindof mechanical storage, that is, the amplified pulses can controlactuators which preset in the appropriate manner control mechanicalmembers of the machine.

For example in a copending patent application in the name of the sameApplicants there is disclosed an apparatus for presetting the pins inthe cylinders of a Jacquard machine, which can be advantageouslycontrolled by the device according to the present-invention, each pulseas delivered due to the contact of. the electrode 18 with a tab16 cancontrol, in fact, the introduction of a pin in its appropriate seating;each row of the pattern, in fact, corresponds to a row of seats arrangedalong the generating line of a cylinder.

The cylinders which carry the appropriate pins are.

actually, a form of a storage device for pattern data of fabric, whichare mechanically transferred to the hosiery machine during operation.

Suitable modifications can be introduced in the device according to theinvention, which could also have different practical embodiments withouttherefor departing from the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is: I

1. A readout device fora fabric pattern and formation of thecorresponding pulses, comprising a guideway which slidably supports thepattern sheet in which a row' of meshes is represented by a row ofreference symbols, a plate which can be superposed to said guideway, twopluralities of contact elements arranged on parallel row's perpendicularto said guideways and between which a window is opened which permits thereadout of said pattern, a plurality of light sources, each arranged inthe vicinity of a pair of confronting elements in the two rows: means ofmanual actuation of each of said contact elements, the one and the otherelement of a couple of confrontingelements controlling a bistablecircuit to actuate or deactivate, respectively, the emission of anenergizing signal for the corresponding light source, a storage memberfor the delivered signals being further provided.

2. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that said contactelements are formed by conducting tabs and the actuation means areformed by an electrode integrally attached to a handle.

3. A device according to claim 1, characterized by comprising means forcontrolling the delivery of signals to said storage member.

4. A device according to claim 3, characterized by comprising additionalcontrolmeans of the bistable circ'uits for discontinuing the signaldelivery, operatively connected to said means for controlling thedelivery of signals to said storage member, in the sense of beingenergized when they are energized, in an immediate sequential order.

5. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprisesmembers for stepwise feeding forward the sheet in said guideway, so assequentially to bring each row of reference symbols in registry withsaid window.

1. A readout device for a fabric pattern and formation of thecorresponding pulSes, comprising a guideway which slidably supports thepattern sheet in which a row of meshes is represented by a row ofreference symbols, a plate which can be superposed to said guideway, twopluralities of contact elements arranged on parallel rows perpendicularto said guideways and between which a window is opened which permits thereadout of said pattern, a plurality of light sources, each arranged inthe vicinity of a pair of confronting elements in the two rows: means ofmanual actuation of each of said contact elements, the one and the otherelement of a couple of confronting elements controlling a bistablecircuit to actuate or deactivate, respectively, the emission of anenergizing signal for the corresponding light source, a storage memberfor the delivered signals being further provided.
 2. A device accordingto claim 1, characterized in that said contact elements are formed byconducting tabs and the actuation means are formed by an electrodeintegrally attached to a handle.
 3. A device according to claim 1,characterized by comprising means for controlling the delivery ofsignals to said storage member.
 4. A device according to claim 3,characterized by comprising additional control means of the bistablecircuits for discontinuing the signal delivery, operatively connected tosaid means for controlling the delivery of signals to said storagemember, in the sense of being energized when they are energized, in animmediate sequential order.
 5. A device according to claim 1,characterized in that it comprises members for stepwise feeding forwardthe sheet in said guideway, so as sequentially to bring each row ofreference symbols in registry with said window.